FERNDALE — More than 25,000 people are expected to turn out for the annual Bud Light Ferndale Blues & Music Festival that runs for 10 days starting Friday.

“We’ll have more concerts and more venues than we’ve ever had before,” said Craig Covey, former Ferndale mayor and county commissioner, who co-chairs the event and co-founded it 12 years ago.

The charitable event is from Friday through Feb. 6 and raises money for the Michigan AIDS Coalition and Ferndale Youth Assistance. The past 11 festivals have brought in more than $200,000 for the two non-profit groups.

“Our goal this year is to raise $30,000,” Covey said.

Advertisement

At least 27 different venues, which include everything from bars to community centers, will host 75 concerts during the run of the festival. Venues in Hazel Park and Royal Oak Township will also host some of the concerts.

“We are pleasantly stunned at the growth of this year’s festival,” said Monica Mills, who co-founded the festival with Covey and her husband, Larry Mills. The first blues festival included only a handful of concerts over a single weekend.

The festival’s chief sponsor is Bud Light, but includes dozens of other local business and individual donors.

The key to raising money is the number of volunteers who turn out to collect donations in blue piggy banks. About 35 volunteers have signed up already but Covey said the event could still use more.

The event usually gets about $10,000 in piggy bank donations during the concerts and another $10,000 that Dino’s Lounge owner Dean Bach raises with his annual Ribs Burn-Out. This year Bach is again hosting the rib-cooking competition inside a heated tent in the Ferndale Public Library parking lot from noon to 7 p.m. Feb. 2. About 10 local restaurants and chefs compete for best ribs honors. This year, the Sun Messengers will perform during the ribs event.

Ferndale 43rd District Court Judge Joseph Longo, an avid blues fan and guitarist, is also vice-chairman of the Ferndale Youth Association that gets money to help at-risk juveniles.

“The festival raises critical funds for our work with youth in the district,” Longo said in a statement. “Our budget is so tight, like most charities these days, and the festival helps us serve youth during this tough economy.”

The blues festival has also grown in recent years to include some country & western, rock ‘n’ roll, jazz and dance music.

“The festival has all kinds of music because Ferndale is diverse and we support diversity,” Covey said.

The event this year includes alcohol-free concerts and performances for youth and senior citizens.

A concert for seniors, parents and children is set for Feb. 6 at the Kulick Community Center in Ferndale. The St. Mary’s Prep Jazz band will perform at 7 p.m. Jan. 30 at the Elks Club on Woodward north of Nine Mile Road. A concert is also scheduled for the Royal Oak Township Community Center, Covey said.

Teens band are ready to play Friday in a family friendly concert at a new frozen yogurt shop “Easy Like Sundae” at 7 p.m. Friday. The Ferndale Library is also scheduled to host an alcohol-free concert during the festival.

Covey said the blues festival is done during the winter because it’s the time of year most people need a break from the isolation of the post-holiday season.

“The holiday parties are over, the weather is cold and people get cabin fever,” he said. “This is the time when people need to listen to some good music, get out of the house and get together.”